Welcome! I'll open up a gameplay for dot/delete as well, but at the moment this is here as a think space to get ourselves organized.
Hello! Long time no see!
Summary of things expressed in the emails:
1.This is a play through the 3 parts of Against the Aeon Throne in campaign mode.
- After book 3 we'll re-evaluate and then talk about the Signal of Screams trilogy
2.As it is a closed campaign I'm open to people playing as any race (core, legacy, or stat'd in the Archive and AP volumes) that they desire. If that would break anyone's immersion speak now or forever hold your peace.
For posting rate and thread presence:
Once we get going I request posts once a weekday as long as we're not on the initiative train. I know I'm personally worthless on weekends so nothing is expected there. That should keep us at a steady pace, maybe a book in 6 months? We'll see!
What you can expect:
-Characters start at level 1 and are built per SFS rules.
-This arc takes characters from level 1 to 6 but XP will be credited to an SFS # in piecemeal fashion as 3 levels in total (1-2) (3-4) (5-6)
Haven't made a character yet but I'm game if there's room!!
--Windy
No clue as to the character I will use, but I guess I'll need to create my -708 (I think, may be higher, based on quest runs).
I am assuming we'll want to be coming in with 0xp, and are doing this full on campaign mode?
It will be full on campaign mode, but does it have to be a true 0XP that you put credit to? You'll start the game equivalent to a 0xp but I'm personally fine if you credit it to a character number that's 1.1, 1.2, or 2.0.
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I am fine with whatever race. Wont break my immersion.
One post per workday and slower in the weekend is exelent. I got so much stuff in the weekend that I dont always manage to get behind a computer.
Im not set on any role yet. New system, new ideas. So many new ideas... Maybe Ill look at weird races first, then base my concept on that.
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Dragonkin have the following ability:
Partner Bond (Ex) A dragonkin can form a permanent bond with one willing non-dragonkin creature. Once this bond is made, a dragonkin cannot form another partner bond unless its current partner dies. A dragonkin and
its partner can communicate with each other as if they both had telepathy with a range of 100 feet. In combat, when a dragonkin is within 30 feet of its partner, both creatures roll initiative checks separately and treat the higher result as the result for both of them.
Anyone want to be Han Solo to my Chewbacca? ;)
That sounds hilarious and awesome! I'd do it. Could even have a few pairs at the table. Make a theme out of it? :D
I like it! Dragonkin do have some cool abilities. I am only now just playing in my first game with a large PC, Silbeg's Commencement actually. It hasn't really seemed to change too much so far. Adds a lot of passive cover in exchange for it threatening a bit more. Has any of you noticed more of an impact?
Probably a caster, as I said before.
Let me know if you, or anyone for that matter, is tempted by the Mystic devastator connection. I haven't looked at it in awhile.
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Racial stats for dragonkin:
RACIAL TRAITS
Ability Adjustments: +4 Str, –2 Dex
Hit Points: 6
Size and Type: Dragonkin are Large dragons with a space and reach of 10 feet.
Breath Weapon: As a standard action, a dragonkin can breathe a 30-foot cone of flame that deals 1d6 fire damage. At 3rd level, a dragonkin adds 1-1/2 × his character level to the damage. A creature in the cone can attempt a Reflex save for half damage (DC = 10 + half the dragonkin’s character level + his Constitution modifier). A dragonkin can’t use this ability again until he has taken a 10-minute rest to recover Stamina Points.
Draconic Immunities: Dragonkin are immune to sleep effects and gain a +2 racial bonus to saving throws against effects that cause paralysis.
Draconic Vision: Dragonkin gain darkvision with a range of 60 feet and low-light vision, meaning they can see in dim light as if it were normal light.
Flight: A dragonkin gains an extraordinary flight speed of 30 feet with average maneuverability. Until a dragonkin is 5th level, he must end his movement on the ground at the end of each turn or fall.
With that +4 on strength I would make a melee focused character. Probably soldier?
Soldier, Solarion. Has anyone seen a melee focused Operative in action?
Dead suns book 2
No problem, I'll post in here tonight or tomorrow once I can.
Pages 50 and 51 of Dead Suns volume 2, Temple of the Twelve. No spoilers involved.
The mechanics don't start entering play until 4th level, but I saw the Skyfire Centurion archetype last night in Pact Worlds. It has similar bonding aspects and gives increased bonuses to covering and harrying fire, starship encouraging, and then combat feat sharing at level 6. Good'ol Triaxus!
Good to note that the Armory will be out before this game hits the table as well.
Oooh. Can I ride you?
No, seriously though. Like Anne McCaffrey Dragon Riders of Pern. Ruth? Or maybe like a watch-wher (I don't know if you've read those books). Point of connection there being the strong bond between dragon/partner though.
A dragonkin can form a permanent bond with one willing non-dragonkin creature. Once this bond is made, a dragonkin cannot form another partner bond unless its current partner dies. A dragonkin and its partner can communicate with each other as if they both had telepathy with a range of 100 feet. In combat, when a dragonkin is within 30 feet of its partner, both creatures roll initiative checks separately and treat the higher result as the result for both of them.
Description
Dragonkin are smaller and more humanoid than their true dragon cousins, yet more intelligent than brutish drakes and wyverns. Dragonkin have a long history of alliance with humanoids. Many dragonkin carry riders into battle against the armies of the evil dragons.
Probably the greatest distinguishing feature of the dragonkin is their near-magical ability to bond with a non-dragonkin partner. Living and working together—and often training to complement each other in combat—a dragonkin and his partner can develop such a deep bond that they begin to literally read each other’s thoughts, allowing them to act with perfect synchronization. This has historically resulted in bonded pairs known as dragonrider pairs: a humanoid partner riding into combat on the dragonkin’s back and providing ranged and magical support. While there are still plenty of planet-dwelling pairs who practice this ancient form of combat, today, a dragonkin and his partner more often use their link to make an exceptional starship crew or ground assault squad. The bond between dragonkin and partner goes far beyond simple combat, however. While generally not romantically involved with each other, dragonkin and their partners act in sync in nearly every aspect of their lives and form an inseparable partnership that outside relationships must accommodate.
Life among the stars has led to variation within the dragonkin race, both culturally and genetically. While dragonkin adopted the use of armor, weapons, and other tools millennia ago, this reliance has accelerated dramatically in recent centuries. Dragonkin who make their homes in the cramped quarters of ships and space stations have a diminished ability to fly—a fact that drives a wedge between traditionalists and the newer breed, the latter of which claim that a good starship provides the only wings they need.
Dragonkin tend to be intimidatingly stoic to strangers but loyal and fun with their friends. Dragonkin in general are no more good or evil than humans, finding their own religious or moral codes or simply doing whatever it takes to protect their friends and families. While most don’t like to admit it, many dragonkin (and even their humanoid partners) are perfectly happy working for chromatic-run corporations, conducting shady operations and making sure humanoids remain properly cowed. Dragonkin have a particularly complicated relationship with the vesk, as the normally aggressive reptilian race have ancient religious scriptures claiming that the spirits of the Veskarium’s greatest warriors would be reincarnated elsewhere in a form suspiciously similar to the dragonkin, and thus vesk have always treated dragonkin with respect and deference, even when their two systems were at war.
The average terrestrial dragonkin is 15 to 20 feet long and weighs roughly 2,000 pounds, while the spacefaring variety can be as small as half that size.
This page contains Open Game Content used under the Open Game License (OGL).
https://glasstopgames.com/sfrpg/rules/race/dragonkin.html
You thinking the larger variety or the smaller space-ship suited kind of dragonkin?
(How much spaceship focus will there be in this?? Lots, little? A consideration.)
Either way. Our skills should complement each-other both starship combat as well as ground. One of us ranged, other melee, etc. One of us sciencey, charismatic. Other fighter, soldier. You mentioned dragonkin soldier style. I think that works.
I need to read more on specific possibilities, but those are my initial thoughts.
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The same text from Alien archive so with setting info intact:
Native to Triaxus, dragonkin are smaller and more humanoid than their true dragon cousins, yet more intelligent than brutish drakes and wyverns. Even before the advent of the Gap, dragonkin had a long history of alliance with humanoids, specifically in a region on Triaxus called the Skyfire Mandate, where many dragonkin carried ryphorian riders into battle against the armies of the evil dragons in
the Drakelands. With the formation of the Pact, however, the Drakelands’ masters ramped back their cruelty to ostensibly legal levels; these dragons eschewed their expansionist wars in favor of biased laws, secret police forces, and corporate oligarchies. In the wake of this peace and the dawn of easily accessible space travel, the Skyfire Mandate’s famed Dragon Legion was renamed the Skyfire Legion and found a new purpose as a spacefaring mercenary league that protects innocent colony worlds that are beyond the reach of the Pact’s laws.
Yet not all dragonkin and their bonded partners signed up to join the legendary militia’s new crusade, and some instead took to the stars independently to find their own fortunes. Probably the greatest distinguishing feature of the dragonkin is their near-magical ability to bond with a non-dragonkin partner, traditionally a ryphorian. Living and working together—and often training to complement each
other in combat—a dragonkin and his partner can develop such a deep
bond that they begin to literally read each other’s thoughts, allowing
them to act with perfect synchronization.
On Triaxus, this historically resulted in bonded pairs known as dragonrider pairs: a humanoid partner riding into combat on the dragonkin’s back and providing ranged and magical support. While there are still plenty of planet-dwelling pairs who practice this ancient form of combat, today, a dragonkin and his partner more often use their link to make an exceptional starship crew or ground assault squad. The bond between dragonkin and partner goes far beyond simple
combat, however. While generally not romantically involved with each other, dragonkin and their partners act in sync in nearly every aspect of their lives and form an inseparable partnership that outside relationships must accommodate.
Life among the stars has led to variation within the dragonkin race, both culturally and genetically. While dragonkin adopted the use of armor, weapons, and other tools millennia ago, this reliance has accelerated dramatically in recent centuries.
Dragonkin who remain on Triaxus and live according to tradition retain their abilities, yet those who make their homes in the cramped quarters of ships and space stations have a diminished ability to fly—a fact that drives a wedge between traditionalists and the newer breed, the latter of which claim that a good starship provides the only wings they need.
Dragonkin tend to be intimidatingly stoic to strangers but loyal and fun with their friends. While the Skyfire Legion has an unusually heroic code of ethics for a mercenary unit, dragonkin in general are no more good or evil than humans, finding their own religious or moral codes or simply doing whatever it takes to protect their friends and families. While legionaries don’t like to admit it, many dragonkin (and even their humanoid partners) are perfectly happy working for the chromatic-run corporations on Triaxus, conducting shady operations and
making sure humanoids in the Drakelands remain properly cowed. Dragonkin have a particularly complicated relationship with the vesk, as the normally aggressive reptilian race have ancient religious scriptures claiming that the spirits of the Veskarium’s greatest warriors would be reincarnated elsewhere in a form suspiciously similar to the dragonkin, and thus vesk have always treated dragonkin with respect and deference, even when their two systems were at war.
The average terrestrial dragonkin is 15 to 20 feet long and weighs roughly 2,000 pounds, while the spacefaring variety can be as small as half that size.
If you eventually want to ride on my back, Id need to be the bigger variant. Might get a bit cramped on a space ship. But Id be perfectly fine building us a next in a cargo bay.
How much spaceship focus will there be in this?? Lots, little? A consideration.
I'm unsure at the moment but from how Dead Suns went I'd expect one ship combat per level on average. Starships will likely be the primary way of life for the majority of you as well since this starts off with the party as a transporter/smuggling crew out in the Vast.
I'll get a player guide link as soon as I can, but for the time being thing's I'd recommend considering during creation are:
*None of you are total strangers
*You've likely been in the vast before and/or for an extended time
*You are comfortable on starships
Not everyone has to fall into every box, but those traits seem like common denominators. The one must though appears to be that you all have a personal tie to the friend that has been abducted. By no means is everyone family, but this common NPC appears to be some relationship incentive for the story. More to come on this once I learn who they are and can give you some seeds.
If you can't tell, anticipation is killing me!!
Something about Silbeg and Ysoki/ratfolk...
Marc and Andre have expressed Ysoki ideas too, you guys could build a stowaway warren.
Just go all out, the remains of the short and odd experiment of an all Ysoki Skyfire Legion. After everything went down in fur and flames, the survivors were forced to the Vast in exile...
I like it a lot! Tightly knit backstories are my favorite and this fits with 3 people mentioning Ysoki interest. If anyone wants to go a different route they can still be your Han too. Kinda like having 3 or 4 adopted Ewoks on the Millennium Falcon!
Ysoki is not something that I was thinking about, but maybe it's a good excuse to try mechanic. Or mystic.
Eh. I'd lean away from rat people myself. Though I do like the idea of the nest. If we do the bond route maybe Ryphorian, skyfire centurion archetype. Maybe dragonblooded theme. Or mercenary theme. Or still thinking of class. Envoy to take advantage of all that charisma maybe.
Sounds good, enjoy! I should have an unofficial players guide out sometime around when you get back.
And ah-ha! Here it is!
As we are entering the start of August soon, plan on solidifying your race, theme, and class choices in the next two weeks. Also please be sure to post them here once you've decided so others can take the developing party's composition into consideration as they make their choices. Have fun!
Doesn't seem to be moving towards a full Ysoki nest.
So far people have mentioned:
Woran: Dragonkin Melee
Bonded to
Alera: Ryphorian, skyfire centurion, envoy
Marc: Ysoki Cowboy/pilot
Silbeg: Something Caster
Andre: ?
Ryan: Legacy race
These are the last known thoughts at least, no one has committed to anything yet and will not be held to anything.
ok, how much money do we have for the ship?
Tier 1 ship sir, so 55 BP
So I've made a character and set up an alias.
Ive gone for Bliz soldier with mercenary theme, as the backstory for mercenary from the guide spoke to me the most.
I've left my Dex dumped. I felt it was appropriate. I'm a hulking dragonkin. Nothing delicate about that.
Used my skillpoints to up my int, because having some skills is nice. Bit of back up charisma.
I still have one language left. Figured I could pick something that most of us also have, so that we can converse in something else then common.
Very nice, I'm excited to see how the lower Dex works out! ;)